Excerpted from full article at San Francisco Chronicle:
More than 30 furniture companies, including Ikea, J.C. Penney and Kmart, have agreed to settle for a total of $2.3 million in civil penalties after a Berkeley watchdog group alleged they sold furniture with high amounts of flame retardants in violation of California's Proposition 65.
The Chanler Group, a law firm that represents individuals suing businesses over Prop. 65, claimed that the 35 companies had been selling upholstered chairs, car seats and other foam-padded products in California without disclosing to consumers that they contained flame retardants in amounts that violated the state's consumer-safety law.
"We're very proud of our clients' work," said Cliff Chanler, founder of the Chanler Group, in a statement. "What they've done today is going to go a long way toward industry reform to remove these harmful chemicals from our homes and our bodies."
Swedish home furnishings giant Ikea has filed an out-of-court settlement in a Proposition 65 complaint with law firm The Chanler Group.
The Chanler Group is a professional Prop 65 litigant. Its complaint with Ikea covers changing pads. The settlement was listed on the California Attorney General's website.
To settle all claims, Ikea agreed to pay $60,000 in civil penalties. Of that, 75% goes to California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and a remaining 25% to Laurence Vinocur - Chanler's professional plaintiff filing complaints. The full article may be accessed on the Furniture Today website.
Anthony Held and John Moore--clients of The Chanler Group--served seven 60-Day Notices of Proposition 65 Violation last week. The notices were served to companies offering products such as pillows, hand tools, and sports equipment for sale in California containing chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm, without the required health hazard warning. TCG's citizen enforcers allege that the companies' products contain the phthalate DEHP and the heavy metal lead (Pb). DEHP and lead are known to cause birth defects and reproductive harm. Some of the noticed companies include Ross Stores, Reebok International Ltd., and Tuesday Morning.